Acer TimelineX 3820TG Owners Lounge. Info, benchmarks, tweaks, mods and upgrades

Thanks for the quick reply... I'll make sure to get i5 and 4GB then...

Lol almost forget... Always thinking about clean install it the moment it arrives... I'll make sure to backup the recovery image and drivers first

 

Thanks, works for me very well.

 

Im using the max settings with GPU @ 680/1000 CPU @ default.

 

You can use VirtualCD to make ISO-s. It's a weird program, but you will not need it after installing.

 

your wellcome

i'm going to receive my 3820tg in 2 days..

when i install my copy of win7, do i have to use drivers from acer site ?
for the vga i'll download latest 10.7 from amd right ?

thank you for help

 

Congratulations.

No ... you back up your drivers and applications using eRecovery. Then make a recovery disk and image of the computer. After the clean install, all the drivers are in a single folder. You don't have to guess which to select. Load launch manager and any other applications you might want to use. The steps in the clean install are outllined here. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ace...rks-tweaks-mods-upgrades-162.html#post6465732

First you load the Acer Video drivers and then upgrade to 10.7. At least that's how I did it.

Bronsky

 

Really thank you for reply

tomorrow i'm going and buy an external DVD writer so i avoid myself to create iso and time consuming steps so:

1) i burn recovery dvds
2) then save key and cert
3) then i think i'm going to change language with vistalizator
Vistalizator - change display language in Windows Vista and Windows 7 and upgrade video drivers

so i can start soon to use it !!

then next days i install a clean win 7 ita language using key and cert saved ..

Lunch manager in necessar right ? then i'll install original acer ati video drivers and then updrage them, new realtek audio drivers too .. can i avoid to install other thing such as trackpad, card reader ecc ecc ?

thank you again!!

 

Seems like Singapore getting 3820TG with i5 460M and 4820TG with i7 640M...
http://pricewatch.vr-zone.com//uploads/events/COMEX2010/Acer2.jpg

 

Awesome! Finally, Tap and Drag is back

So about the Graphics settings, is it normal to see both ATI and Intel under GPUZ? They're both selectable in the dropdown box on the bottom left when I open GPUZ after setting video to discete. I don't want to be running both at once...

 

Yep, that's normal. When you're on ATI, the Intel shows up as well. But when you're on IGP (Intel), the ATI should disappear.

The IGP is built into the CPU. It should draw less power if the ATI is on. Switching graphics mode in BIOS to discrete and comparing the power consumption to ATI in switchable mode should proof this.

 

I wonder when we will have a new bios then that supports 460m and 640m's ?

 

I think a bios update might not be necessary. It's still the same cpu family...

 

If you don't install touchpad it works, but only with basic functions "point and click". You are advised to install Synaptics v15 from station drivers. Card reader must be installed too. Bluetooth too. Drivers are really necessary, Apps are not. The only app you need is Launch Manager. Don't bother with ePower, it's unreliable and I get 7 hours even without it.

And why would you spend time with Vistalizator if you are going to do a clean install?

 

No one knows. ...

The exact CPU ID must be listed in the bios and not only the family to use all of his features. Let us say, the CPU must be in a whitelist.

On the other side, no one seems to be able to open the bios at the moment and read out the list of supported CPUs.

It's something between hoping and waiting...


Have anybody ask Acer for information?

 

Is it only me hearing the "CPU" (ok not CPU) whining noise really? Or is it only annoying me? I know it's something at 16 kHz, what not everyone could hear. I think maybe our computers are assembled at different companies, they only have the same specs. It's so strange to have so many differences between units.

 

Yesterday I've worked late hours in real quiet place, and I've noticed "the working sound" of the notebook, I did hear some electrical sound as well, but I'm still not sure whether that's the one You hear as well, or if it's louder on Your notebook.

For the record, here in my office I must focus on it to hear it - sometimes not sure if I hear it or it's just my brain playing - only the vents are audible, they're the main sound source.

 

If the new Acer models don't have a new bios, then you don't need it. The I7-640M has shown up in the 4820TG. Acer Notebooks Asipre TimelineX 3820T 5820TG 4820TG 5943G 8943G COMEX 2010 Scanned Singapore Price List Brochure Pamphlet Leaflet 3.5ghz without OC'ing. Guess where it has shown up?

Bronsky

Hint: look at the "also available" box on the lower right side.

 

Thx! Added!

 

Maybe the easiest thing is to have your brain tested first.

 

Nice! Hey Bronsky, whats it gonna be then? 540 OEM? 640?

LOL

 

540M ... for now.

Bronsky

Edit: Just checked ... Motherboard is in Ohio.

9/2/2010 6:00 am	Clearance processing complete		Cincinnati Hub, OH
6:00 am	Transit through DHL facility		Cincinnati Hub, OH
5:22 am	Depart Facility		Cincinnati Hub, OH
4:53 am	Processed at DHL Location.		Cincinnati Hub, OH
9/1/2010 7:49 pm	Depart Facility		Hong Kong, Hong Kong
7:14 pm	Processed at DHL Location.		Hong Kong, Hong Kong
6:55 pm	Transit through DHL facility		Hong Kong, Hong Kong
6:28 pm	Depart Facility		Hong Kong, Hong Kong
6:22 pm	Processed at DHL Location.		Hong Kong, Hong Kong
4:03 pm	Departing origin.		Hong Kong, Hong Kong
12:24 am	Shipment picked up		Hong Kong, Hong Kong

This is the same DHL/Post that my laptop originally shipped with and my speaker is shipping with. How can they move frieght from Hong Kong in 2 days when it took 14 from Germany? Is it because there is that much more frieght comming to the US from China than the EU these days?

 

Someone else who have got and solved the problem with flickering screen?
The screen brightness goes up and then lower each 30 sec or something
with both gfx cards and it doesnt matter if iam plugged or unplugged from the AC-adapter.
Did reinstall Windows 7 the first thing and followed the guide with new ati drivers and such but the screen is still flickering on a weird way.

 

I did this and installed the newest ATI drivers, but... according to this CCC Driver Details | AMD Developer Central and my driver information I only have the newest Catalyst Control Center and, 2D drivers, OpenGL and Direct3D drivers are still the old ones...

 

Has anyone tried using this laptop to drive a 30" LCD at 2560x1600? I know the specs say the max resolution over HDMI is 1920x1200, but the 5650 is supposed to be able to support resolutions up to 2560x1600. HDMI 1.3 also supports this resolution, so I was wondering if anyone has had a chance to try it.

I'm looking for something to replace my aging MacBook Pro. I currently use it with a Dell 3008WFP monitor and I need my replacement to support 2560x1600. Since the 3820TG does not have an expresscard slot, a ViDock or similar solution is not possible.

I've been looking at this laptop for a few days now. Just about ready to pull the trigger, if it will work with my monitor. I'm in the states, but it looks like it's pretty easy to order it from overseas. There are tons of people selling it online...I've also got family in Taiwan who can ship me one. Hopefully someone has found a way for it to work with my monitor.

 

I think the german parcel has really taken the old ship and not the plane...

 

um how do I check what screen do I have? lol...and nope no screen flickering at all. I seriously think folks with this problems just got a bad screen, I hope you can exchange for a new one.

no key flex for me. buttons in those areas type very well, same as the rest of the keyboard.

BTW do anyone else experience stiff usb ports? that is possibly my only gripe so far, albeit its a minor one. Whenever I plug in stuff such as my mouse, I always find it harder to plug it out. It doesn't seem to come out smoothly as compared to my previous work dell laptop or my existing desktop.

 

It is new, it is fresh and it is tight.

Just use the book one month and it will be better.

 

still debating between i7-620m vs i5-540m (or 580m) for future upgrade for a lot of Premiere pro and after effects cs5 usage...

also will 8gb of ram use much more power ?

 

9/2/2010 9:50 am	With delivery courier.		West Philadelphia, PA
8:04 am	Arrived at DHL facility.		West Philadelphia, PA

Looks like my motherboard is almost here. West Philadelphia is right across the Delaware River from my office. It will probably be here late today or tomorrow at the latest. If it comes tomorrow, I will probably have everything but the speaker done before the end of the Labor Day weekend. I can have it reassembled and ready for work on Tuesday. The speaker replacement is an easy task that only requires separating the notebook halves a bit.

@Just_a_Nick - yep. Looks like the speaker is in the cargo hold of the S.S. Rotterdam.

@bydus - I hadn't expected to be working on my 3820TG over the long weekend, but it looks like my Motherboard will be here soon. I should have my impressions of the I5-540M by early next week. There are a few engineering samples of the I7-640M for sale on ebay and I considered them but I am hoping for an OC'able unit. If it does OC, hopefully, I can get an OEM I5-540M to OC better than Hendrickson's engineer sample did. We'll see. The 540M was a decent compromise. If my CPU does not OC, I would have been better off with an I7 but it is does, I think the 540M is the better CPU. At least on paper.

Bronsky

 

Cinebench 11.5 64bit scores if anyone is interested. Pretty good scores I think, specially the OpenGL...Beats some of the others in the list....

 

Has anyone tried overclocking the 5470? Just got one and am looking for OC tips, just for the graphics card. Starcraft 2 looks like crap on low settings

 

I run starcraft on medium, with textures on High, pretty smoothly. Encountered no slowdowns yet. I'm on the i5-430M with 5470

 

Motherboard arrived ... wrong board.

I wrote to the company but it is 2:30 in the morning there in Hong Kong. Not a good sign. Guess I'll be working on my sailboat this weekend.

Bronsky

 

Damn , how wrong is it? Another brand motherboard like HP/Dell etc?

 

Yes. The US has its largest trade deficit with China. Over $226 billion dollars in 2009.

FTD - Statistics - Country Data - U.S. Trade Balance with China

In other words, we Americans buy over $226 billion of Chinese goods than the Chinese buy from us.

The words "Made in America" are meaningless now. Outsourcing is the new key word.

The Chinese have gotten incredibly efficient at shipping goods to their biggest, most profitable customer.

Thus endeth my off-topic lesson for the day.

 

Thanks!

Just curious, but do you use your laptop for practical purposes, or is it mostly just for modding and benchmarking?

 

It's not even close.

This is the Acer 3820TG Motherboard picture from the Service Manual.



This is what they sent.



Looks nothing like my motherboard. I'm tempted to get a refund, install the I5 and live with what I have. The I5 would do everything I need and I have some ability to OC.

Bronsky.

 

Oh my, this must be a joke, whattha?!

 

Hi, when I first received my laptop I spent one whole night to figure out my "brightness shifting every 30 second" problem. Reinstalled windows two times, tried all possible driver combinations, but it was happening all the time. I even made a video about it:
YouTube - Acer TimelineX 3820TG display problems

Your only chance is to return it while still you can! If everyone returns the problematic display I hope that Acer will figure out that there must be some problems with the assembly companies and/or AOU panels.

On my replacement computer now, I have brightness shifting every 10 minutes, what is not that bad, but I will wait till they know about that problem and then I will send in to repair. As a fix, you can just use your computer on integrated graphics, it does not happen on integrated, only on ATI.

 

Oh, yes and use the "power saving" plan when on battery and "balanced" plan when on AC. I don't know why Microsoft couldn't do it without manual selecting, sometimes I prefer how Macs do things without you.

And if someone is curious, there is much more behind "power saver" and "balanced" plans then you can see in the power settings dialog. Power saver really tries to get low multiplier for your processor, it only raises the speed up when you require it. For example for single threaded applications it almost always stays low. Only for heavily multi threaded applications, it raises multiplier slowly.

 

Is it even a motherboard? It looks like some weird board...

 

@Bronsky

Nice board and the thermal paste on the cpu and chipset is for free

Have a nice weekend with your sailboad.

 

Mine has no whining what so ever. And my ears are goood, last time I checked them I could hear up to 21kHz.

My 5820TG had slight whining though.

 

Tried on my dell monitor, and nope won't go over 1920 x 1200.

 

Which res? 1024 or 1280

 

=(

I assume you used HDMI > HDMI, and not HDMI > DVI-D DL or anything like that? If so, that's a bummer. Appreciate you checking for me though.

 

Bronsky,
You have the new Cylon prototype mobo! Now you can make and have your very own Number 6! Sexy!

P.S. I adamantly refuse to use the Twitter method of addressing people (e.g. @Bronsky). I'm old school like that.

 

1280x1024 on my monitor.

 

God knows what this is ... it has no IC/Clockgen and it has no GPU onboard. I must say, I'm starting to loose confidence in Shark Technologies Ltd . It looks like some part of a composite main board.

I have no idea what they were thinking. Anyway, I wrote to them and told them I'll give them one chance to tender what I ordered or I want a refund. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

Bronsky

 

Anybody knows the use of Intel HD graphics program that is running by the taskbar? Does it have to run all the time or can I try to stop it from start running everytime windows starts or even remove it?